F.A.Q.

Indie Game Riot

Q: How did Indie Game Riot start?

A: Josh (JaShinYa) Musser had been playing and enjoying indie games for a couple years before the beginning of IGR. He loved how creative and fresh they were along with how appreciative indie developers were towards fans of their games. He also noticed how most media outlets covering indies were either heavily inundated with negativity or not giving enough attention to the indie community between AAA titles and other “geeky news”… or both in some cases. With his voice acting and podcasting background, Josh decided to start a podcast that solely concentrated on giving indies full attention and a positive attitude as a thanks to all of the devs that put so much hard work and passion into their projects for their fans. Something that has continued to be a huge part of IGR’s mission statement.

Q: How did Josh, Rev and Tek meet?

A: After Josh decided to create a podcast for indies, he reached out to the gaming community for people interested in producing a high quality show. As it happened, Bryan (Reverend) Inks was a moderator in the /r/LetsPlay subreddit and decided to respond to Josh’s post calling for co-hosts. Not long after chatting on Skype, getting to know each other, discussing the goals for the show and some general brainstorming, Josh reached out to a friend and co-host from a previous podcast Josh produced in 2007 about voice acting, Dillion (Tekedo) Schmidt.

Q: Where are all of the hosts from?

A: Josh is based out of Pennsylvania where he runs the majority of anything involving IGR. Tek is from Maryland while Rev lives all the way on the West Coast in California.

Q: How did the name ‘Indie Game Riot’ come about?

A: During several brainstorming sessions, Josh, Rev and Tek came up with several titles and taglines for the show. The main goals were to come up with something edgy to reflect the creativity and freedom in indie development as well as something to express our support for furthering the wonderful community. Out of the ideas discussed, ‘Indie Game Riot!: Enable the Evolution’ was born.

Q: When does the Indie Game Riot Podcast release?

A: We stream our recording sessions live every Wednesday at 9:30pm EST on Twitch.TV where there are no edits, lots of audience interaction and banter in between segments. The edited version found on IndieGameRiot.com releases during the following week.

Q: Was the website around since the beginning?

A: Nope! IGR started off as an audio-only podcast hosted on Youtube with our original logo left as a placeholder in the video. After the podcast’s success and thanks to all of your support and generosity, we decided to expand IGR to a full-fledged website! We did this by launching an IndieGoGo which allowed us to not only set up our website, but also helped us commission of new (better looking) logo!

Q: Can I find IGR anywhere else on the internet?

A: We are all over the place! Here’s a full list of places to keep up to date and interact with us:

Q: I have a game (or know someone who does)! Will you feature it on the show?

A: We will absolutely take a look at it, but we can never promise a feature. We are very particular when choosing what games to feature for a few different reasons: 1) We can only feature three games per week. 2) Your game may not fit any of our show segments due to your build progress or game length/content. 3) Our audience trusts our opinions and transparency when it comes to the games we cover on the show. Therefore, we will not feature games that may not meet our standards for quality.

Please understand that we do not wish to crush your dreams or offend if we do not choose to feature your game. A lot of games are put in front of us so we have to be choosy. If you do not get your game featured on the show, you may have a better chance of having an article written up so please be patient! If you or someone you know would like us to take a look at a game, please contact us! Also, as a general rule, make sure you follow these handy tips on contacting press! It may help help your game get more notice by all gaming press outlets!

Q: I’m a pretty talented individual. Are you all looking for people to help out?

A: YES! While we are currently unable to “hire” anyone with “money” made from our “profits”, we are definitely looking for volunteers! Writers, web developers, animators, artists, musicians, video/audio editors, community moderators and any other possible skills you think you could bring to the table! Get in contact with us if you’re interested!

Q: I have a website/company/game/etc… that I need extra exposure for. Do you all take sponsors?

A: We do! We provide ad space on our site as well as on our show. For rates, check out our advertising page and get in contact to discuss more details! Please note that due to our transparency policies, we DO NOT guarantee positive coverage or any kind of feature outside of the paid advertisement. If by chance, we would like to cover your content outside of the ad, we will always make it clear to our audience that, while we always provide our honest opinions, we have also sold advertising space to you.

Q: I love what you all do! How can I support Indie Game Riot?

A: First, just by visiting the site, checking out the show and interacting with all of us is amazing of you. However, if you would like to help IGR out a step further, please tell as many people as you can about us and what we do. Getting them to visit, follow us on various social media, etc… helps the show more than you know! Finally, if you would like to support us financially, we do have a Patreon where you can get perks for your support and it helps us move toward our bigger goals for IGR!

Indie Revolution Expo

A: In June 2014, some indie devs from Seattle had the idea to create an online indie game convention to parallel the big names being featured at E3. With only 4 days of planning, incredibly thousands of people showed up the the stream to celebrate indie games! Unfortunately, the creators did not want to continue doing the event. That’s where we come in…

The next year, after discovering IndiE3 was no longer happening, Indie Game Riot decided to pick up the torch and create the spiritual successor to IndiE3 called Indie Revolution Expo! While the idea and spirit come from IndiE3, IRX is created with IGR’s complete creative control and is run as seen fit by the IGR crew.

A: No! It will always remain 100% free for people to check out, exhibit and run panels.

Q: I have an indie game. Can I show off my game at IRX?

A: Yes! Whenever our submission forms are open, you may absolutely submit information for your game to be exhibited during the stream!

Q: I’d like to submit a panel. What do I need to do this since everything is digital?

A: You will need a Skype account, a decent microphone and a webcam is preferable but not necessary (Some people may just broadcast audio or a stream of a presentation that they will talk over). After you have these things, just fill out a panel submission form so we have all the necessary info!

Q: How do panels and exhibits work if everything is digital?

A: For panels, we add the panelists via Skype and use broadcasting software to stream their discussion over our Twitch.TV channel. Everyone else interacts with the panelists through the chat box next to the stream. Game exhibits will be presented by the IGR crew in between panels based on the info provided by the developers. Again, anyone attending IRX will be able to interact and provide feedback via the chat box.

Q: I have a website/company that I’d like to show to the IRX audience. Do you take sponsors?

A: There are a bunch of ways to help! We are always looking for stream moderators as we want to maintain a safe place for everyone involved. If you have moderating experience and want to volunteer, email us at IRX@indiegameriot.com with the subject line “IRX MOD”. If you would like to help out financially, purchasing shirts or donating directly helps us grow IRX and make it more amazing every year. You can also help out by telling everyone you know about IRX! We use the hashtag #IRX (usually with the current year, for example #IRX15) on social media. Lastly, showing up and supporting the devs is a HUGE help! it shows ours devs that IRX is a fantastic way to show off their games, which means they will be back the next year with even more devs!

Want to help support the growth of Indie Game Riot? Help us help the indie game community by supporting us on Patreon!

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Indie Revolution Expo!

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